President Donald Trump has responded to a plea for assistance from Scott Adams, the creator of the comic strip “Dilbert,” who is seeking help in obtaining a cancer treatment drug. Adams, diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer earlier this year, expressed his health concerns in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He stated that his healthcare provider had approved him for the new FDA-approved drug, Pluvicto, but faced difficulties in scheduling the treatment.
In his post, Adams said, “They have dropped the ball in scheduling the brief IV to administer it, and I can’t seem to fix that. I am declining fast.” He asked Trump to intervene with Kaiser Permanente of Northern California to expedite the scheduling for his treatment. “That will give me a fighting chance to stick around on this planet a little bit longer,” he added. Although not a cure, he noted that Pluvicto has shown good results for many patients.
Trump quickly responded with a post stating he was “on it.” Additionally, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy confirmed that the administration was looking into the matter, stating, “The president wants to help.” Dan Scavino, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, also indicated that Trump, Kennedy, and Mehmet Oz, Administrator of Medicare and Medicaid Services, were all monitoring the situation.
Kaiser Permanente later issued a statement to Reuters, affirming that Adams’ oncology team is actively engaged in his cancer care and that necessary steps are already in progress. The specifics of how the White House plans to facilitate Adams’ treatment remain unclear.
Trump’s advocacy for patients in need of life-saving medications is not new. During his first term, he signed the Right to Try Act, which aimed to provide terminally ill patients with access to investigational treatments not yet fully approved by the FDA.
Adams disclosed his cancer diagnosis in May during a video on his YouTube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” He revealed that the cancer had spread to his bones and remarked that he shares a similar diagnosis with President Joe Biden, who also has prostate cancer. Adams expressed “respect and compassion” for Biden, who recently completed radiation therapy for his own condition.
Pluvicto, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, has been shown to reduce the risk of progression or death in prostate cancer patients by 28%. The drug combines radioactive particles that destroy cancer cells with molecules that target tumors. Earlier this year, the FDA expanded its approval for Pluvicto, significantly increasing the number of eligible patients.
Gina Carithers, CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, highlighted the importance of the drug’s expanded approval, stating, “With worsening outcomes after each successive line of treatment, patients with this type of metastatic prostate cancer and their families have long faced limited options and uncertain outcomes.”
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, making it the second-most common cancer-related cause of death among men in the United States, following lung cancer.
The “Dilbert” comic strip, first published in 1989, became widely popular in U.S. newspapers but faced significant backlash in 2023 following Adams’ controversial remarks in a video that many interpreted as racist. As a result, the strip was largely pulled from circulation, and Adams was dropped by a publishing company.
In light of his recent health challenges, Adams has called for both empathy and support, emphasizing the urgency of his situation. As he navigates this critical moment, the response from Trump and the healthcare community reflects ongoing concerns about access to necessary medical treatments in the face of serious health issues.
